Novel tackles dynamics of dysfunctional family

6/13/2014, 6:08 a.m.

New York Times best-selling novelist Dorothea Benton Frank and Southern California poet Brendan Constantine will share their work next week at the Decatur Library.

Frank will discuss her latest book, “The Hurricane Sisters,” on June 16 and Constantine will read his poetry on June 18.

Both appearances are part of the Georgia Center for the Book’s Festival of Writers Series and both talks begin at 7:15 p.m.

Frank’s “Hurricane Sisters” depicts the complex relationship of a dysfunctional South Carolina Lowcountry family. It spans three generations of women grappling with challenging life hardships. When lies and unresolved issues escalate, an emotional hurricane changes their lives forever.

Frank is the author of 15 novels, including best-sellers “Sullivan’s Island,” “Plantation,” “Porch Lights,” “The Last Original Wife” and “Folly Beach.”

Constantine, who is known for his dreamy abstraction and emotional ferocity on the page and on the stage, is a creative writing teacher at Windward School in Los Angeles.

His recent collections are “Birthday Girl With Possum” and “Calamity Joe.”

He became a published author at age 18 and his work has appeared in journals like FIELD, Ploughshares, and Ninth Letter and in the LA Times best-seller “The Underground Guide to Los Angeles.” He has appeared in the films “Pretty in Pink” and “Commando” and is well-known for his workshops at hospitals, foster care centers, and homeless shelters.